Culinary Fame on TV: A Closer Look

Restaurateurs in Washington state strive hard to please customers and keep them coming back for more, better yet, to get them spreading good word of mouth (pun not intended). Having foodies rave about a restaurant brings national fame and attention, especially from shows featured on Food Network and other TV channels with cooking shows.

Getting one of the celebrity TV hosts to pay a visit to a restaurant is a big deal, not just to our beloved Washington restaurant owners, but also to our local communities. It is heartbreaking when we see one of our Washington state restaurants gain national TV food fame and then permanently close up shop. Let’s take a look at 21 closed restaurants featured on Food Network that we still miss.

Taste of Yesteryears: A Journey and Farewell

The closed restaurants and bistros featured in this list served everything from pasta to baked pastries, brew pub fare, handcrafted cocktails, and more. Some of these restaurants closed because they couldn’t survive the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020-2022 that brought restaurant dine-in service to a halt. Other beloved restaurants on this list were demolished to make for wait, you guessed it, a parking lot.

FOOD TV SHOWS THAT FEATURED WASHINGTON STATE RESTAURANTS

The 21 restaurants on this list that closed were highlighted on these twelve national food shows:

CANADIAN TV:

• Eat St.

COOKING CHANNEL:

• Unique Sweets

FOOD NETWORK:

• Bizarre Foods America
• Crave
• Craziest Restaurants in America
• Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives
• Food Paradise
• Heatseekers
• Restaurant Impossible
• The Best Thing I Ever Ate
• Top 5 Restaurants

TRAVEL CHANNEL:

• The Layover with Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain (RIP!) is pictured here visiting Ocho restaurant in Ballard. (Ocho is still open, by the way!)

Report a typo or correction

Got a news tip? Email us here.

TRENDING STORIES:

• One of the Most Filmed Movie Locations in the World Is in Oregon

• 10 Essential Lessons You’ll Learn Living in Washington State

• The Most Beautiful Town in Washington State

• 3 Types of Weapons You Cannot Legally Own in Washington State